Kotlety mielone (ground meat patties) are one of the most popular everyday dinners in Poland. Growing up, they appeared on our family table regularly, usually served with potatoes and a simple vegetable side. They're comforting, budget-friendly, and made with simple ingredients.
Recipe at a glance
🇵🇱 Origin: Traditional everyday Polish comfort food
⏱️ Total Time: About 40 minutes
🍽️ Serves: 4 (makes 7–8 patties)
🥔 Best Served With: Mashed potatoes, boiled potatoes, buckwheat, mizeria, buraczki, or sauerkraut salad
🌿 Key Flavor: Juicy inside, crispy outside, seasoned with classic Polish marjoram
✨ What Makes This Recipe Different: Uses ground turkey for a lighter twist while staying true to the flavors of traditional kotlety mielone. The soaked bread keeps the patties tender, and sautéed mushrooms add extra moisture and savory flavor.
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What Are Kotlety Mielone?
Kotlety mielone are traditional Polish ground meat patties made with seasoned meat, softened bread, onion, egg, and spices. The mixture is shaped into oval patties, coated in breadcrumbs, and pan-fried until golden brown.
While they're sometimes compared to hamburgers or Salisbury steak, kotlety mielone have a softer texture and a distinct flavor thanks to ingredients like marjoram, a classic seasoning in Polish cooking.
They're considered everyday comfort food in Poland and are commonly served with potatoes, mizeria (cucumber salad), or buraczki (grated beet salad).
This version of kotlety mielone stays true to the flavors I grew up with while using ground turkey for a lighter twist. The addition of mushrooms keeps the patties extra juicy and adds even more savory flavor.
Looking for more recipes from Poland? See all of my Polish recipes.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Ground turkey or pork - ground pork is traditional, but ground turkey creates a lighter version that still stays juicy.
- White bread- soaked bread helps create the tender texture that makes kotlety mielone unique. Polish cooks usually use a stale kaiser roll but any good quality white bread (baguette, French or Italian bread) or a bead roll will work.
- Onion - yellow or white, adds sweetness and flavor. I like to cook it first but some people add it raw.
- Mushrooms - optional but highly recommended for extra moisture and savory flavor. I use white button or baby bella mushrooms.
- Garlic - you can skip it if you want or swap for ½ teaspoon garlic powder.
- Egg - one fresh large egg to help the meat mixture bind.
- Marjoram - a classic Polish seasoning that gives these patties their characteristic flavor. You can also swap it for oregano, although the flavor will be slightly different.
- Breadcrumbs - good quality unseasoned breadcrumbs work best. I like to buy Polish breadcrumbs (bułka tarta) at a Polish deli because they are more delicate than American breadcrumbs but that's not necessary. You can also make your own by grating dried out baguette.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make the best Polish meat patties
- Step 1: Soak bread in milk (or water) until completely softened.
- Step 2: Cook onions, mushrooms and garlic in butter.
- Step 3: Add ground meat, squeezed out bread, egg, mushroom-onion mixture and spices to a bowl.
- Step 4: Mix well.
- Step 5: Form oval or round patties and coat with breadcrumbs on both sides.
- Step 6: Cook the patties in oil or clarified butter until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through.
Storage and freezing tips
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- To reheat, warm in a skillet over medium-low heat or in a 350°F oven until heated through.
- They are also delicious cold - I like to slice them up and put them in sandwiches.
- Cooked kotlety mielone can also be frozen for up to 3 months.
Tips for juicy and flavorful mielone
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the center reaches 160°F.
- Fully soak the bread before adding it to the mixture.
- Squeeze out excess liquid so the patties aren't too wet.
- Let the onion and mushroom mixture cool slightly before mixing with the meat.
- Avoid overmixing the meat mixture.
- Cook over medium heat so the patties brown without burning.
Recipe FAQs
"Kotlety mielone" translates roughly to "ground meat cutlets" or "ground meat patties."
Soaked bread helps keep the patties tender and juicy while improving their texture.
Absolutely. Mushrooms add moisture and flavor, but the recipe will still work without them. You can also swap them out for grated zucchini.
Ground pork shoulder is traditional, but turkey, beef, or a combination of meats all work well. If using turkey, make sure it's not super lean. 85% lean works well.
More Polish recipe ideas
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey 85% lean, or ground pork
- 1 onion chopped small
- 1 tablespoon butter or oil
- 2 oz baguette or white bread, stale is fine
- milk or water for soaking bread
- 2 garlic cloves minced or crushed
- 4 oz white mushrooms chopped small (optional)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon marjoram
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tablespoon plant oil (vegetable, avocado, canola) for frying
Instructions
- Place baguette or white bread in a small bowl. Pour milk or water over it until submerged (you may need to push down as it tends to float to the top). Leave to soak while you're preparng the meat mixture.
- Melt 1 tablespoon butter or add oil in a small or medium skillet. Add chopped onions, cook for a few minutes until softened, then add mushrooms and cook together on low medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring often. Set aside and let cool slightly.
- Add minced garlic, stir and cook for another minute, until fragrant.
- Check if the bread is softened (it shouldn't feel hard inside or on the edges). Using clean hands squeeze out most of the milk or water from the bread. Discard the liquid.
- In a large bowl combine ground turkey (or pork), squeezed out bread, cooked onions and mushrooms, egg, salt, pepper and marjoram.
- Mix well using your hands or a spoon. It should be uniform and you should not be able to see big bread pieces in the mixture. Break them down with your fingers, if needed.
- Form 7-8 round or oval patties (about 1-inch thick) and coat each in breadcrumbs on both sides.
- Heat 3 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet.
- Sauteé the patties on medium heat on one side until browned, then flip and cook on the other side. Each patty should register at least 160 degrees Fahrenheit on a kitchen thermometer (inserted in the middle). You can also take one kotlet off the pan, cut it in half and make sure it's no longer pink in the middle.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
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Meet the Author
Hi, I'm Agnieszka. I'm a mom of three and recipe developer, writer and photographer behind Wholly Tasteful. I love creating comforting, delicious, family-friendly recipes that you can feel good about.
Eric says
I highly recommend adding a stick to make a nice mielone meat pop. Nothing better than meat on a stick!